First things first, I had my weekend-long party with some of my real life friends (who just happen to be people I've met on LJ) and no one pointed out the mud stains from dirty paws on carpet by the back door, so I consider that a win. :D

While I would love to have everyone over to my home (omg, I'm an introvert and that was a LIE but I don't want to sound like a jerk but seriously, let's get real here) I was very grateful to the small group of girlfriends who visited. (And those of you invitees who weren't able to come, you were missed and loved on!) You never realize how bad things have been until you feel their burden lifted. By which I mean to say how wonderful it felt to have girls I've known for years -- women I've traveled with, shared fandoms, sorrows, heartbreaks and joy with -- sit and drink margaritas with me and really let ourselves relax for a solid weekend.

And apparently Casa de Stoney is getting a good review on Yelp. :D

(Oooh, we made blackberry and Key lime margaritas that were TASTY. They needed tiny crushed ice to be tip-top, though. And flaming_muse? The Mr. told me that he bought me crushed ice and had it in the outside freezer - and I had no idea. Bah! Next time!) I actually lip wobbled and had tears running down my face after I dropped everyone off at the airport because it had been such a wonderfully supportive and fun weekend. I highly recommend doing something really nice for yourself. WHO KNEW?

Because I was so involved with enjoying everyone (and talking fandom, making dick jokes, drinking margaritas, refreshing sunscreen, praising the casting choices on Teen Wolf) I missed huge news for Dallas. Kidd Kraddick, a local DJ that became nationally syndicated, suddenly died.

Kidd Kraddick was a really nice short guy. Ha. He had been on a rock station, and was suddenly fired when they moved to an alternative format. The other DJs played nothing but Hotel California by the Eagles for a week in protest. No, really. But he moved to the cheesy pop station and he was just fine, so.

Cut to: a decade a change later where I'm a recently divorced young woman with two babies. I listened to his morning show on my very long drive into work, the babies in their car seats behind me. It was Christmas season, and they announced a contest for people to rewrite a Christmas carol to win tickets to an upscale restaurant in town. Immediately I reworked "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" in my head about the woes of being a single mother looking for a good guy to date, dropped the kids off at daycare, raced to my desk (I was usually one of the first in at the office) and called in with my song. The producers loved it and they put me on the radio in competition with the other callers. Kidd immediately said I won without leaving it to the listening audience and told me how to get to their studio in Las Colinas to pick up my prize.

WHAT I DIDN'T REALIZE was that a part of the contest was to win these tickets to the restaurant and go with this one guy that had called in the day before bemoaning the dating world in Dallas. Whoops.

I get to the studio, and Kidd shakes my hand, chats me up, and quietly asks why I'd consider going on a blind date, seeing as I came off as a sane and nice person myself. Like, why would I need to win a contest just to get a steak dinner with a dudebro?

"...Uh."

He immediately called the restaurant and asked for two more vouchers, gave the guy - who was standing close by, staring at me - two of his own, and sent him on his way. Kidd then invited me back to the studio to meet the rest of the "morning show" and record a commercial, showing me how it all worked in a big studio. (I'd told him how I'd been a radio jockey in college.) I hung out with him talking about his charity and music and his days at the Eagle (the rock station) until two extra vouchers showed up for me. He laughed and said, "Make sure you listen to what the contest is before you jump in next time!" He wished me luck (told me I was funny) and to "keep looking up."

That was his signature line, but he really meant it. He was a nice, positive, friendly guy, and he dedicated his free time to making terminally ill kids feel great about themselves and made a point to give all he could to the kids his charity reached.

It's always a huge loss when someone who is genuinely trying to make the world a better place dies. He was a truly nice person, a glass half full kind of guy, and the world really needs more people like that, not less. RIP to a truly good person.

I'm spending the day figuring out how to move forward on projects that mean something to me, because my lovely friends gave me the will to do so. I'm definitely looking up. <3

Are You Actually

Reading this? I'm just curious. Because that's really detail-oriented of you. Feel free to stop reading. But you can see that there's more here, so are you going to keep reading? Really? That's pretty dedicated. I'm impressed. No, really. I'm not being sarcastic, why do you get like that? See, this is the problem I have with your mother - yes. YES. I'm going there. It's time we put all of our cards on the table.

I love you, why are you doing this? After all we've been through? You don't have to be like this. You know, still reading. You could be baking a pie. And then sharing it with me.